County Galway Birding (local patch) (12 Viewers)

[abi107]

Thank you Tom for the information. Though I did not see the waxwings on Saturday, I did stock up on groceries! I saw 4 waxwings about noon on Sunday just beside the pedestrian lights. Lovely birds.

Aoife

 

[Dermot Breen]

Male Green-winged Teal, Rusheenacholla, Carna, Co. Galway, 31.12.10 (I've lost count of the yearlist).
Bottle-nosed Dolphins in Mweenish Bay also today.

Dermot

 

[birdsgalway]

Happy New Year.
Dermot from what I can put together from our list I make your
Green-winged Teal
203 total for 2010.

So here's to the start of the 2011 year list
With my total of 53 for today
Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Song Thrush
Jackdaw
Magpie
Coal Tit
Pied Wagtail
Robin
Blackbird
Starling
Feral Pigeon
Forster's Tern
Sandwich Tern
Black headed Gull
Herring Gull
Redshank
Turnstone
Great black back Gull
Hood Crow
Curlew
Bar-tailed Godwit
Dunlin
Common Gull
Oystercatcher
Mute Swan
Cormorant
Mallard
Grey Heron
Rock Pipit
Rook
Wigeon
Little Egret
Ring-billed Gull
Pochard
Goldeneye
Tufted Duck
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Scaup
Lapwing
Teal
Shag
Great Northern diver
Moorhen
Whooper Swan
Greylag Goose
Brent Goose
Gadwall
Red-breasted Merganser
Coot
Woodpigeon
Shelduck

 

[birdsgalway]

54 Madarin Duck found at Waterside by Mike Davis
1st County Record
http://www.irishbirding.com/birds/web/Display/sighting/29752/Mandarin_Duck.html

 

[birdsgalway]

55 Blackcap Tirellan

 

[Morg]

Had a day and a half at Nimmo's Pier in late Dec - first time birding there. Have to be back some other time for the northern gulls but nice views of two Ring-billed Gulls (pics on blog here) and Nordic-looking Jackdaws (pics on blog here).

Great site - went through a lot of bread!

Geoff

 

[birdsgalway]

County Year List 2011
56 Gannet
57 Guillemot
58 Razorbill
59 Greenfinch
60 Redthroated Diver

Great blog Geoff

 

[Dermot Breen]

I have 208 species for 2010. I think there are a few species that weren't posted here e.g. Goosander, etc.
Looked for the Mandarin yesterday but no sign of it. I think in this case it would be a Cat D or E which aren't generally counted. The clincher is that if its an introduced species, the population must be self sustaining. Currently the only such population in Ireland is in county Down. At the moment you could say the same about the likes of Red Kite, Golden and White-tailed Eagle.

A few from Inis Meain today.

61 Common Scoter
62 Kestrel
63 Ringed Plover
64 Grey Plover
65 Sanderling
66 Purple Sandpiper
67 Snipe
68 Greenshank
69 Little Gull
70 Black Guillemot
71 Meadow Pipit
72 Wren
73 Dunnock
74 Stonechat
75 Song Thrush
76 Redwing
77 Raven
78 Linnet
79 Twite

Dermot

 

[birdsgalway]

Song Thrush include in my first list at number 4.

208 is not a bad total.

 

[AOD]

79 Hen Harrier
80 Jack Snipe

Am hoping to plug a few of the gaps in the winter Atlas for Long-eared Owl. If anyone has had any sightings of LEO's anywhere in the county at any stage could they get in touch and hopefully I can check out the sites in the next two months.

 

[abi107]

A few from the garden:

81 Collared dove
82 Redpoll
83 Siskin
84 Blue tit

 

[birchall]

Can anybody advise where is the best (cheapest) place to buy sunflower hearts in bulk ( up to 20Kg bags). The husks from my sunflower seeds are drawing rats. Failing that: where is the cheapest place in Galway to bulk buy sunflower seeds. I usually buy in Dangan Nurseries but sometimes they don't have the big value bulk bags.

County List: Red Grouse (Lough Kip)

 

[Paul Troake]

A few more for the list...

86 Shoveler
87 Sparrowhawk
88 Merlin (Craughwell yesterday, Slieve Aughties today)
89 Woodcock
90 Fieldfare
91 Mistle thrush
92 Goldcrest
93 Great tit
94 Bullfinch
95 Crossbill (7, Slieve Aughties today)

Troakie

 

[birdsgalway]

Brendan I get my bird supplies from Gaugans Garden Centre on the Headford Road. I also checked out the new pet store in Well Park, they have some get deals on wild bird food.

 

[Dermot Breen]

96 Slavonian Grebe, Ardbear Bay, Clifden.
97 Water Rail.
98 Grey Wagtail
99 Jay
100 Reed Bunting

Any votes on the bird of the year in Galway? The Pacific Diver is obviously the best of the lot but for me seeing the Yellow-rumped Warbler out on Inishmore would get my vote.

Dermot

 

[birdsgalway]

My bird of the year is a Grasshopper Warbler which was very cooperative while I was filming and Photographing the beauty. Spoonbill comes a close second.

 

[AOD]

101 Bittern
In flight at dusk yesterday evening at the mouth of the Cregg river where it runs into Lough Corrib just south of Muckrush.

 

[Colin Conroy]

Hi all,
I'm a recent (last week) arrival in Galway (although I was a summer migrant for most of my childhood - to Claddaghduff, near Cleggan). I'm living in Ballybane at the moment.
Thanks to Tom Cuffe for telling me about this forum - I see now where all the birds go that aren't reported on birdguides or Irish Birding.

Here are a few of the birds I have seen since I got here (2nd Jan)
Dipper - 2 I think in Galway - one above the Salmon Weir Bridge by the rowing club, and one on the Friar's River (when I visited in November I saw 3 together on the Friar's River, 2 of which were fighting very fiercely - they ended up out of sight where the river goes under the building, and it may have been to the death as only one came out (the other may have limped out the other side)

Kingfisher - 1 on Lough Atalia yesterday - my first one in Ireland.

Siskin - 3 in an alder tree on the path between the Wolfe Tone Bridge and the next bridge (?Bridge Street Bridge?)

Blackcap - 1 at a bird feeder next to the first house (coming from the north)
1 in my garden in Ballybane
Scaup - there have been a few in Lough Atalia but I haven't seen the large numbers that have been reported in previous years (am I missing them or are they really not there).

I've just been birding around Galway city (plus one cycling trip to Rusheen Bay), as I don't have a car, so my year list so far is only 70 (I've no idea how good or bad that is for round here though, as I'm still learning what's common and what not, here)
Cheers,
Colin
PS if anyones interested in going out birding, let me know

 

[Colin Conroy]

Ah, I've just worked out your list thing.
In that case
102 Dipper
103 Kingfisher

 

[Colin Conroy]

"Blackcap - 1 at a bird feeder next to the first house (coming from the north)"

oops - I meant to complete that sentence - it should have read
"Blackcap - 1 at a bird feeder next to the first house (coming from the north) on Lough Atalia Road"